This is just a rant. Company I applied for a job with have fucked me about massively.

Back in APRIL I applied for a job. I decided that as I had until September that I would just apply for one job at a time, I wasn't totally up shit creek, I could just carry on with my business if no job arrived and I didn't want to swamp myself with interviews etc while still working FT.

SO I applied for this one (dream) job. They immediately called me for a phone interview, that went really well, and then I went on to have five separate interviews/meetings with various directors and managers. Each one ended on a positive, they were clear that they were trying to juggle things to create an opening for me.

The last two meetings were about a specific role, and I left the last meeting with a pretty much verbal offer of a job (yes, all great, I just need to speak to X and I'll get back to you with a job offer tomorrow). He never phoned and so I chased it up, got fobbed off with 'I'll call you back tomorrow' and then this morning have had a letter (a LETTER ffs, everything else has been on the phone or face to face) saying thanks but no thanks, and we'll keep your details on file.

THREE FUCKING MONTHS.

Three months of blowing smoke up my arse and telling me I'm brilliant and they're looking forward to working with me.

Is this just what the process is like these days? I've been self employed for ages.

I have just sent my cv off to all the other local companies and I WILL have a job by September, but I am completely shattered by this.

I have to say that some of my RL friends (who will no doubt see this) will be a bit 'I told you so' (in a supportive and soft huggy fashion, obvs).

I would be really annoyed BUT look on the positive side you wouldn't want to work for such an incompetent company anyway would you so you have had a lucky escape, chalk it up to experience and move on. It's their loss! Onwards and upwards eh?

The last interview meeting I had was with the branch manager who said, this is just a formality, I just needed to meet you and you seem great, you're exactly as I expected, just what we're looking for.

We discussed a start date, the days I would work (5/7), who I'd be working with.

There is a hell of a lot of jumping through hoops going on at the moment, and the people you'd been dealing with obviously felt bad, as they wrote rather than called you.

It won't be personal. I'm sure they were telling the truth, and would have loved to work with you. Sadly so many large companies are not taking new people on at the moment, it was probably an instruction from someone on high, who'd never come across you.

If it really was your dream job, why don't you ask for feeback, with a view to keeping the option open for the future?

My guess is that they did want you but now the budget has been cut and they're not allowed to employ you, and can't/ don't want to admit it. What the management want and what the accountants will let them do are often two different things.

This happened to dh, endless positive interviews then a no thanks. Turns out senior manager had offered the role to someone he met at a party, just as the line manager was going to make an offer to dh.

The line manager left and offered dh a much better job at his new company.

Hope you get a much better job, at least you found out they were bastards before you went to work there.

Yep it sounds as if they were on the point of giving you the job and someone vetoed the budget.

It's shit. Really shit. But I am afraid it's par for the course at the moment. I have been looking for a job for over a year as I an facing likely redundancy at some unspecified point soon and this sort of thing is standard practice. In fact you are actually lucky they bothered to tell you it was a no go. Over three quarters of the jobs I have applied for haven't so much as acknowledged my application.

Yes, totally shocking behaviour from employers/recruiters at the mo. Worst I have ever known it I'm afraid.

When you are applying for jobs you need to look after number one (while being terribly nice to everyone). From experience, I wouldn't attend five interviews for a job nor would I work for a company that expected me to jump through hoops like that.

Apply for jobs, go for interviews and keep looking/applying until you have a contract (you are happy with) in your hand. I have been caught out several times in the past by not doing this.

Also, don't be tempted to have a go at this sod awful company. You will be wasting your breath and it may just backfire.

Sorry to hear this LaQueef it's just so outrageously rude and cruel even.

I'm desperately seeking 'the perfect job' (it would help if I knew what it was and where to look) but just getting this crappy admin job I have at present took a huge chunk out of my life - workshops, interview rounds - I mean seriously, I'm on less than £16k!

I know employers have the pick of the crop at the moment but they way they fanny around really winds me up.

I agree with the people who said that they probably did want you but had the budget cut from underneath them.

I think you should take away from the experience a lot of confidence in your awesomeness, but also the fact that nothing in the current climate is secure until you've got a signed contract.

Apply for more than one job at a time, so that you've always got another possibility to think about ... and be wary about a company that demands five separate interviews. I've never had more than two. Ever.

Me too - put a lot of effort into securing job which would involve running legal topic courses for business people - my role would be to head up the unit and plan the courses - with FE College. I was offered some temporary lecturing to get into things then the new unit was cut due to funding problems. I did ring to have it out with them but as the person who had recruited me was being made redundant I ended up feeling more sorry for him than me!